For immediate release

Application deadline set for conservation innovation grants

SPOKANE, Wash. (March 18, 2009) – To foster innovative natural resource conservation approaches and investments – in conjunction with agricultural production in Washington – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today announced the availability of state-level Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for 2009.

Through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the NRCS may pay the cost of competitive grants up to $150,000 during fiscal year 2009 for the state of Washington. Grants to eligible entities and individuals may not exceed a maximum of $50,000 each.

“These state-specific funds are in addition to up to $20 million of funding that may be available for application from the national CIG program,” NRCS Assistant State Conservationist Dave Brown, said. Grant projects must be within the State of Washington.

“We’re requesting applications from eligible government or non-government organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for single or multi-year projects,” Brown said. To be eligible, applicants must directly involve farmers or ranchers who would normally be eligible to participate in EQIP.

“Possible topics for grant consideration cover a wide range of resource issues such as soil, water, atmospheric, range, forest and wildlife conservation and technology issues such as energy, irrigation, nutrient management and technology transfer,” he said. Grant projects can be planned for up to three years in length.

“Applications must be received in the NRCS Washington State Office by 4 P.M., Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on May 8, 2009 to be eligible for consideration,” he said. The application announcement is available at www.grants.gov, the official posting site for all US Government grant opportunities, by searching under the Funding Opportunity Number USDA-NRCS-WA-09-01.

For further information, potential applicants should contact Dave Brown, assistant state conservationist, at (509)323-2971 or visit the Washington NRCS 09 CIG web site. For information about the national CIG grants program, applicants are urged to visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig/.
 

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